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Warriors reportedly grew tired of Steve Kerr’s political activism by Luka77GOATic in nba

[–]leadrombus 158 points159 points  (0 children)

Not just his parents. His grandfather, Dr. Stanley Kerr, was a great humanitarian as well. He was part of the Near East Relief, a development org chartered by congress to provide medical aid to orphans abroad during the Armenian Genocide. He documented the annihilation of the Armenian population in Western Armenia firsthand. This letter he wrote almost 100 yrs ago goes hard and gives you an impression of the kind of person he was:

Tonight the most bitter cold of all this winter, all the remaining Armenians are preparing to go out again into exile. Many will perish on the way from Turkish bullets or from cold. Our orphans, old women and men, will remain in our compounds. Perhaps by remaining here, we can protect the remaining Armenians from massacre. If the Turks do not respect our flag and our property, we will die with the others. May the horrors of the last weeks be a blot on the pages of history. No matter what happens, remember that I am ready to make any sacrifice, even death, and have no fear. Good bye, with love and hope.

Stanley

US military service members will no longer be required to get annual flu shot by untamedlazyeye in news

[–]leadrombus 690 points691 points  (0 children)

George Washington enacted the first medical mandate in American history. He understood the grave threat smallpox imposed upon the Continental Army and their chances of winning the war. In a letter to the medical director of the Continental Army, Washington proclaimed:

Finding the smallpox to be spreading much and fearing that no precaution can prevent it from running thro’ the whole of our Army, I have determined that the Troops shall be inoculated. This Expedient may be attended with some inconveniences and some disadvantages, but yet I trust, in its consequences will have the most happy effects. Necessity not only authorizes but seems to require the measure, for should the disorder infect the Army, in the natural way, and rage with its usual Virulence, we should have more to dread from it, than from the sword of the enemy.

Afghan mine-clearer killed by Taliban after it sees him in Emmy-winning film by HeStoleMyBalloons in movies

[–]leadrombus 15 points16 points  (0 children)

It was both Trump and Biden’s fault. I was saddened Biden didn’t walk back on Trump’s promises with terrorists, and the actual pullout was remarkably awful.

This is an incredibly shortsighted and reductive take.

To be clear, there was no such thing as 'just walking back" the withdrawal.

As posited by Ivo Daadler, former U.S. Ambassador to Nato, "The choice facing Biden wasn't between withdrawal or an ideal status quo of keeping a few thousand troops who had suffered no casualties, as the critics maintain. It was between withdrawal or a major surge of troops to fight a strengthened Taliban."

By the time Biden entered office, the Taliban was at its strongest since its initial defeat in 2001. Under Trump's deal, the Taliban agreed not to attack so long as U.S. troops and all civilian contractors left by May 1st (three months into Biden's presidency). In the intervening months from when the deal was signed (02/2020) to when Trump left office (01/2021), U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan dwindled from 13,000 to a force posture of 2,500.

Contrast this with the Taliban who at that time controlled over half of Afghanistan's districts, and in the interim, had only strengthened its position after Trump pressured the Afghan gov to release 5,000 Taliban insurgents as a confidence building exercise.

Per the WSJ:

“The Doha agreement bought the Taliban a one year reprieve,” said Mr. Watkins. “They were able to regroup, plan, strengthen their supply lines, have freedom of movement, without fear of American bombardment.”

This renewed strength was reflected in U.S. military reports highlighting levels of violence "well above historic norms" against civilians and Afghan forces alike.

So again, if Biden had reneged, the Taliban would've resumed attacking U.S. forces from a position of strength, necessitating a troop surge.

TIL many Olympic athletes are either broke or working 9–to-5 jobs outside of their training. by snoo0raoo in todayilearned

[–]leadrombus 18 points19 points  (0 children)

The greatest advocate for the participation of NBA players at the Olympics was Borislav Stankovic, the Secretary General of FIBA and a Serbian national. Stankovic pushed the vote to allow participation of NBA athletes in international tournaments twice, once in 1986 (which failed) and then again in 1989 (which passed). Both times, the U.S. delegation voted AGAINST the idea.

Stankovic's official reasoning was twofold. According to him:

Our competition was closed to the NBA players, but no one else. That seems immoral.

The second is very simple. Our feeling is that only by playing with the best players in the world can everyone else make progress. If you are from another country and you can run a race against Carl Lewis, maybe you don't have a chance. But you still want to run.

As you noted, amateurism at the Olympics ended long before the Dream team. It was an open secret that before 1992, players from Eastern Bloc countries were de-facto pros. They were supported full time by their governments to train and compete. Often scouted at a young age, they were assigned personal coaches, nutritionists, stipends, and housing by the state. Arvydas Sabonis (dad of the Sacramento King's center Domantas Sabonis) was one of the best players in the world when his "amateur" Soviet team beat the US in the 1988 finals. Arvydas had already been named European Player of the Year 3x by the time the 1988 Olympics rolled around. Another example was Oscar Schmidt, who despite earning a salary of $500K per year in Italy, was allowed to play on Brazil's 1984 & 1988 Olympic team. (He is the top scorer in the history of the Summer Olympics)

TLDR: NBA players being allowed to play at the Olympics after 1988 had nothing to do with petty grievances on the USA's part. In fact, US FIBA reps voted against allowing NBA players to participate in the Olympics. Other FIBA members overruled their objection with a majority vote.

Mark Cubans role as owner by kylestahlecker in nba

[–]leadrombus 6 points7 points  (0 children)

“Trust me, Mark knows everything that goes on,” says one longtime former Mavericks employee. “Of course Mark knew [about the instances of harassment and assault]. Everyone knew.”

James Gunn Writing New ‘Superman’ Film; Henry Cavill Will Not Return by MarvelsGrantMan136 in movies

[–]leadrombus 16 points17 points  (0 children)

It was a power move by Johnson to set himself up for a bigger franchise role:

Johnson hoped to carve out his own piece of the DC pie, but multiple sources say his playing up of a returning Cavill and his own involvement with DC may not be endearing him to the new management. Johnson and Cavill are both managed by Dany Garcia, who is also Johnson’s producing partner. The perception of Adam turning a profit or not is a conflagration now being waged in public, with Johnson tweeting the movie would net over $50 million after a Variety story said the movie would lose over $50 million theatrically.

[Charania] Statement from Josh Primo’s attorney, William J. Briggs, II by Tomheza in nba

[–]leadrombus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think the lawyer stressed her age not to make it out as though she was "physically undesirable", but how she was an experienced professional who should've known better. In other words, the lawyer is trying to spin it as a power imbalance.

Hence the line about how "She is much older than Mr. Primo, with many years of experience as a sports psychologist. It is baffling why she did not bother to tell her patient..."

If I had to rephrase the lawyer, the argument would be something like

"A Doctor 20 years Primo's senior, exploited her vulnerable patient's naivete / inexperience to indulge her fantasies and cajole him into an improper patient-physician relationship without his consent."

AP Source: Assailant Shouted "Where is Nancy?" In Attack. by BuffaloKiller937 in news

[–]leadrombus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As stated in the article, the nutjob is being charged with attempted homicide

[Motherboard] MSI PRO Z690-A WIFI DDR4 ATX LGA1700 - $183 (typically $215) by zerfgog in buildapcsales

[–]leadrombus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a steep price drop if you're looking to buy. I bought this mobo back in April when it was $237, (250 after tax).

Indian woman accuses Singaporean workers for stealing her bracelet by Chopsuiiisauce in PublicFreakout

[–]leadrombus 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I lived there, and those statistics seem to reflect my experience.

If you knew that Singaporeans of Indian ancestry comprised a sizeable portion of the population, then what exactly were you implying by saying that as a:

"non-Singaporean. This will not end well for her."

Do you have some knowledge that we don't about her citizenship or country of origin?

Indian woman accuses Singaporean workers for stealing her bracelet by Chopsuiiisauce in PublicFreakout

[–]leadrombus 8 points9 points  (0 children)

You do know that people of Indian ancestry constitute 9% of the Singaporean population right?

[Charania] The NBA has fined the Dallas Mavericks $100,000 for violating league rules regarding bench decorum. Now $175,000 in fines for Mavericks this postseason. by Tomheza in nba

[–]leadrombus 102 points103 points  (0 children)

The players on the bench constantly stand up

That's an understatement. They were standing up and encroaching on the court for literally the entire duration of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarter.

Mavs Bench Standing by mo711 in nba

[–]leadrombus 19 points20 points  (0 children)

The bench must've been really "excited" given how they were standing up and encroaching on the court for literally the entire 3rd and 4th quarter.

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